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August 21, 2014

An Urban Planning Domain Working Group (DWG) has been chartered to define the role for Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards within the urban planning discipline. The DWG offers an open forum for the discussion and presentation of interoperability requirements, use cases, and implementations of OGC standards relevant to urban planning.

Technologies and trends such as smart cities, smart grids, sensor webs, the Internet of Things (IoT), facilities and asset management, indoor and outdoor navigation, energy performance modeling and real-time, “big data” analytics are important for urban planners. In these technology domains, open standards encourage the sharing of information. The OGC Urban Planning Domain Working Group intends to discover requirements for open spatial standards in information systems involved in the planning, design, use, maintenance and governance of publicly accessible spaces. Requirements identified by OGC Domain Working Groups are typically used as the basis for standards development by chartered OGC Standards Working Groups (SWGs).

July 17, 2014

An Urban Planning Domain Working Group (DWG) is being chartered to define the role for OGC standards and related activities related to urban planning. It is also intended to provide an open forum for the discussion of interoperability requirements, use cases, pilots, and implementations of OGC standards in this domain. The OGC seeks comments from the public on the draft new charter. The comment period closes on 6 August 2014.

Technologies and trends such as Augmented Reality (AR), Smart Cities, Smart Grids, Sensor Webs, the Internet of Things (IoT), LBS (Location Based Services), Facilities Management, navigation (indoor and outdoor) and “Big Data” Analytics all can play important roles in informing urban planners. In these technology domains, open standards can facilitate the development, publication, discovery, and use of information. The OGC Urban Planning DWG intends to discover requirements for open geospatial standards in information systems involved in the planning, design, use, maintenance and governance of publicly accessible spaces.

October 22, 2013

The global urban population is growing by 65 million annually. More than
half of the world’s population is already living in cities, and these cities generate
more than 80 percent of global GDP. It is expected that urbanization will continue to be one of the biggest drivers of global economic growth. The productivity improvement from urbanization has already delivered substantial economic growth and helped radically reduce poverty in countries such as China and Brazil.

The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) in a report Urban world:Mapping the economic power of cities (also summarized in Foreign Affairs) has projected the growth of urbanization demographically and economically over the next 15 years. The report is based on a number of assumptions that together represent a possible future scenaio and relies on MGI's Cityscope database of more than 2,000 cities that coalesces MGI regional research on cities. Together, the 2000 cities of the MGI Cityscope are projected to contribute 75 percent of global GDP growth to 2025.

MGI projects that 600 urban agglomerations, representing a fifth of the world’s population, will generate 60 percent of global GDP in 2025.

In this report MGI projects one scenario of how cities will evolve demographically and economically over the next 15 years. There are some surprising conclusions that may change government and companies strategies in how they investment in markets in the future.

Regional distribution

Top cities in 2025 by:

pop gdp gdp_growth

Tokyo New York Shanghai

Mumbai Tokyo Beijing

Shanghai Shanghai New York

Beijing London Tianjin

Delhi Beijing Chongqing

Kolkata Los Angeles Shenzhen

Dhaka Paris Guangzhou

Sao Paulo Chicago Nanjing

Mexico City Rhein-Ruhr Hangzhou

New York Shenzhen Chengdu

Over the next 15 years, the regional distribution of the top 600 cities will change. One third of developed cities (developed regions comprise the United States and Canada, Western Europe, Australasia, Japan, and South Korea) will no longer be among the top 600. By 2025, 136 new cities are projeted to enter the top 600, all of them from the developing world. 100 of them are projected to come from from China alone. India is projected to contribute 13 new cities in the top 600 by 2025 and eight will come from Latin America.

Distribution by size

In 2007 developed economies and emerging market megacities (developing cities with populations greater rhan 10 million) together represent 74 % of global GDP in 2007. But according to MGI megacities have not benn driving global growth for the past 15 years and this trend is projected to continue. MGI projects that today's 23 megacities will cotnribute only about 10% of global growth to 2025.

The economic role of large cities varies among regions. China’s rapid growth depends on the growth of its megacities and the emergence of new ones. According to MGI India’s urbanization is at a relatively early stage, while in Latin America rapidly growing middleweight cities are contributing more to GDP growth than its largest cities.

MGI projects that 407 emerging market middleweight cities will deliver nearly 40 percent of global growth by 2025, more than the aggregated developed world and emerging market megacities. Of these 13 middleweight cities (Chicao + 12 in emerging markets primarily China) are projected to become megacities by 2025.

Age distribution

MGI project that the 423 cities from developing regions will contribute almost 80 percent of growth in the 65-plus age group in the City 600 over the next 15 years.

Conclusion

MGI's research suggests that to find opportunities we need shift focus from economies as a whole to cities within them, and from megacities to the rapidly groing middleweights, particularly in emerging markets.

In a nutshell in 2007

1.5 billion people live in these 600 cities—22 percent of global population

They generated $30 trillion of GDP in 2007, more than half of global GDP

They support 485 million households with average per capita GDP above $20,000

Of these the top 100 cities generated $21 trillion of GDP in 2007 - 38 % of the global total.

In 2025 according to MGI's projection

2.0 billion people will live in these 600 cities - 25% of the global population

They will generate $64 trillion of GDP, 60% of global GDP

They will support 735 million households with average per capita GDP of $32,000, of which 235 million households in developing cities will have income above $20,000 per annum.

June 18, 2013

I've blogged about the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, (DMIC) a huge US$ 90 billion project 1,483 km in length linking Delhi and Mumbai. The objective of the DMIC is to create a base for economic development by providing access to the best state-of-the-art infrastructure. This project includes nine large Industrial zones of about 200-250 km2., a high speed freight line, three ports, six airports and a 4000 MW power plant. An influence region of 150 km on either side of the freight line comprises the DMIC. It strikes me that what is being created is a megaregion, a concept that is getting a lot of attention in the United States,

A megaregion is a new scale of geography that blurs the traditional boudaries between metropolitan regions, like what the DMIIC is doing with respect to Mumbai, Delhi and other smaller cities. These population centers include Interlocking economic systems, shared natural resources and ecosystems, and common transportation systems. Population growth and increasing urbanization are the driving forces behind megaregions.

America2050 has defined 11 megaregions in the United States. Megaregions are defined by relationships that define a common interest.. According to Amerca2500 the five major categories of relationships that define megaregions are:

Environmental systems and topography

Infrastructure systems

Economic linkages

Settlement patterns and land use

Shared culture and history

Most of a country's rapid population growth and economic expansion is expected to occur in these megaregions.

These aggregations are so large that they need to be modeled and managed as smart cities. For example, the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is intended to be comprised of seven smart cities. According to URENIO these smart cities are compact, vertical developments. They use digital technology to create smart grids for better management of civic infrastructure. They have an efficient public transportation system. They recycle sewage water for industrial use. Green spaces, cycle tracks and easy accessibility to goods, services and activities are designed to foster a sense of community.. They have underground utility corridors for parking, sewage disposal and communication lines. Public transport is available within a 10-minute walk from home or office.

January 27, 2013

For over half the nearly 300 people in the audience at the fourth Geodesign Summit in Redlands this was their first Summit. So there was a serious effort by several speakers including the MC Tom Fisher to define what geodesign is.

Geodesign is an invented word, The first use of the word has been traced to 1993, and picked up by ESRI in 2005.
Some of the definitions of the term that I heard at the conference include

Geodesign is a method which tightly couples the creating of design proposals with impact simulations informed by geographic contexts and systems thinking and (normally) supported by digital technology. Mike Flaxman, amended by Steve Ervin

Geodesign makes design decisions data rich.

Geodesign takes GIS analysis into the future.

Geodesign is design in a geographic space. Bill Miller

Geodesign is a vision for using geographic knowledge to actively and thoughtfully design. Jack Dangermond

Perhaps the most concise and the most comprehensive are from Carl Steinitz

Geodesign changes geography by design.

It is clear that for serious societal and environmental issues, designing for change cannot be a solitary
activity. Rather, it is inevitably a collaborative endeavor, wth participants from various design professions and geographic sciences, linked by technology from several locations for rapid communication and feedback, and
reliant on transparent communication with the people of the place who are also direct participants.

To understand what geodesign means in practice, the best way is to look at specific projects. At the conference there were a number of interesting presentations about diverse projects all of which reference geodesign and which provide examples of what people mean by geodesign in practice. I plan to blog about several of these.

Why geodesign ?

A common theme in a number of speakers' presentations is that the effects of population growth, urbanization and climate change have reached the point where we urgently need a serious change, this change will require new tools, and geodesign could be one of them.

For example, Tom Fisher offered some pretty frightening statistics which are not hard to find these days. There was a pervasive sense at the conference that the planet is on the brink and we have to change. And if we don't change, the implications will be dire.
Bran Ferren put it this way (paraphrased) - this is that moment in the history of
the US and of the world when we need to have a new and unfashionable
conversation, a long term conversation on a complex
topic where there are no simple, short answers. David Bartlett (IBM Smarter Planet) was more specific. "It is clear that there is an
immediate requirement to significantly and urgently change the way our
built environment is managed."

February 23, 2012

At the Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum, Rosemary Feenan of Jones Lang Lasalle made the point that most of the world's private investment in commercial real estate projects goes to a relatively small number of cities. Her list for 2010/2011 of the top 30 cities for direct commercial real estate investment for 2010-2011 and the total amount invested in billions is interesting.

London $43 billion

Tokyo $32

New York $27

Hong Kong $18

Paris $18

Singapore $15

Washington DC $13

Seoul $12

Toronto $10

Shanghai $10

Las Angeles $10

Beijing $8

San Francisco $8

Chicago $7

Taipei $7

Sydney $7

Stockholm $6

Boston $6

Moscow $6

Frankfurt $5

Melbourne $5

Berlin $5

Calgary $5

Rio de Janeiro $5

San Diego $5

Hamburg $4

Munich $4

Miami $4

Sao Paulo $4

Manchester $4

It is interesting that the top 10 includes Singapore and Toronto, both relatively small from a population perspective. According to a recent report, Toronto leads other cities in North America by a considerable margin in number of tall buildings under construction, most of which are residential.

February 21, 2012

Just came across a fascinating documentary on urbanization, which in the last 200 years since the industrial revolution has been occurring at an exponential rate and represents the largest impact humans have had on the planet. Some of the statistics are mind-boggling

52% live of world's population live in cities.

There are 200 000 new urban dwellers every day.

By 2050 6 billion people, equivalent to today's total population, will live in cities.

On average over the next 30-40 years, a million people will move into cities every week.

Cities are responsible for 70% of the world's energy use.

The documentary focuses on the need to better understand how cities work, to develop a serious science of cities in Geoffrey West's words, because althought the major problems we are facing are generated by cities, cities are creative and we should expect that the solutions to these problems will also be generated in cities.

The documentary makes the point that ICT, which enables real-time monotoring, control and automation, will be central to making citiies work, and work sustainably, in the future.

A fascinating example of how technology can be used is an MIT Senseable City Lab project "Trash Track" described by Carlo Ratti in which a micro device was attached to 3000 pieces of garbage and used to track what happened to this stuff after people threw it away. Incredible to see the diverse places all over the country where stuff we throw way ends up.

December 06, 2011

According to the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 HM Government plans to provide £5 billion by 2014-15 while it is hoping to planning to attract £20 billion from private investors. The Treasury hopes two-thirds of the of the funding will come from the National Association of Pension Funds and the Pension Protection Fund. It is also separately looking for more investment in infrastructure from insurance companies and from China.

The National Infrastructure Plan sets out a new strategy for meeting the infrastructure needs of the UK economy. It is based on a comprehensive cross-sectoral analysis of the UK’s infrastructure networks and identifies over 500 priority infrastructure projects.

Funding

The Government will facilitate the private investment that will finance the majority of the UK’s infrastructure. This includes bringing in new investors into UK infrastructure; introducing new sources of revenue such as tolling; allowing local authorities more flexibility in the way they use local receipts to fund major infrastructure in specific circumstances; and being willing to consider guarantees against specific risks that the market cannot bear.

Cross-sectoral analysis

The cross sectoral analysis shows the UK’s infrastructure performance is beginning to improve in some areas, such as broadband speeds and coverage, and road safety, but that the age of some networks and the dense pattern of urban development in the UK combine to pose challenges. Many power stations are ageing, road congestion is a growing concern, train punctuality in the UK is worse than on the continent and there is a growing airport capacity challenge in the South East of England.

Based on this analysis, the Government has identified a set of goals for improving infrastructure performance,

improving the performance and environmental impacts of the UK’s transport networks including maintaining the UK as an international aviation hub

achieving a secure, diverse and reliable energy supply for the UK while reducing the carbon intensity of electricity generation

maintaining the water and sewerage system while reducing its environmental impacts

mitigating the impacts of flooding and coastal erosion

moving towards a zero-waste economy through recycling and other measures

Priority projects

Improvements to the national road network,

two new managed motorway schemes to allow use of the hard shoulder at congested times on the M3 and M6

improvements to M1/M6 Junction 19, the A14 Kettering Bypass, widening of the A453 and the A45/46 Tollbar End improvement scheme

smaller projects which will deliver significant improvements on the road network

Improvments in railway infrastructure and commuter links, including

electrification of the Transpennine railway route from Manchester to Leeds and a rail link between Oxford and Bedford

enhancement and renewal works to improve stations and rail infrastructure

improvements to the quality of travel for rail users, including smart ticketing, new carriages, and limiting fare increases

The Government is committing to extra funding for more local transport projects including new low carbon emission buses.

The Government is announcing funding to create up to ten ‘super-connected cities’ across the UK, with 80-100 megabits per second broadband and city-wide high speed mobile connectivity.

There will be a particular focus on small and medium sized businesses and strategic employment zones to support economic growth. Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London will receive support from this fund and a UK-wide competition will identify up to six additional cities to receive funding.

November 10, 2011

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a global climate change reporting system. Over 3,000 organizations in 60 countries measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, water management and climate change strategies through CDP. The data is made publically available.

Last year CDP announced a new program called CDP Cities, designed for cities to report on their green house gas (GHG) emissions and strategies for addressing climate change. Mayor Bloomberg of New York, Chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), points out in the first CDP Cities annual report that the half of the world's population that now live in cities are responsible for more than 70 percent of the world’s GHG production. The cities participating in the 2011 CDP Cities program are responsible for 21 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and produce 12 percent of the world’s GHG emissions.